I Don't Believe In Love
by tWoW
Summary: (OotP SPOILER) Harry brings a tarnished soul from the darkness and allows it to shine, golden as Aten himself. He then gets involved in a serious relationship. Trelawney dies, a mysterious woman takes her place. She was denied her first love, and she no l
1. A New Beginning

Tap tap tap.  
Harry heard the sound on the door of Grimmauld Place. He answered the door to see someone only slightly familiar.  
A slender figure, clad in tight black robes, stood there. The hood was drawn, so he could not see her face, but by the person's obviously feminine curves, he knew it was a young woman. She spoke, her voice a soft murmur, and a foreign accent hinted at her tones.  
"I wish to join the Order."  
She spoke no more as Kingsley, Tonks and Lupin dashed forward. Kingsley and Tonks seized her by the arms and dragged her inside, Remus shut the door behind her. Tonks yanked back the hood of the girl.  
Her face was a smooth-skinned, Middle Eastern toned mask of stoic calm. She was extremely pretty, but her eyes... those were a different story.  
Her eyes were a cold hazel color, shining out against her blended- coffee skin tone. Her hair was solid black, very straight, falling to her elbows. Her short bangs were slightly tousled over her forehead from having the hood yanked back. Harry gasped.  
She was a student at Hogwarts, in his house, even. But he could never remember her name-- mostly because she was like a shadow. A black hole cut into the colorful environment, she sank into the darkest corners and sat unnoticed. Harry had never seen her willingly speak to someone-- she was quite antisocial, and had no friends to speak of. She was a lone wolf.  
"How did you get here?" Kingsley demanded.  
She gazed calmly up at him.  
"I knew the address."  
"How?"  
"Found it."  
"Where?"  
"Sidewalk in London."  
"How do you know about the Order?"  
She fell silent, her low, rich voice ceasing.  
"Well?!"  
"I'm... I've been having dreams about it... about everything. I would like to join."  
"How do we know you're not a spy?"  
"Veritaserum."  
She held up a vial of clear liquid.  
"I'll take some if you like."  
"Do it."  
She shrugged, uncorking the vial and letting a few drops fall onto her tongue. She swallowed.  
"I swear upon my honor, and the grave of Seth Mostafa, my best friend and brother by destiny, that I wish to join the Order of the Phoenix for solely reasons of good."  
"What is your name?"  
"Kiya--"  
"--Nefertari."  
Harry finished her name for her as he remembered. Kingsley shot him a sideways look.  
"You know her?"  
"I only know that she goes to Hogwarts, her name, and that she's in Gryffindor." Harry responded.  
"How do I know that's really Veritaserum?" Kingsley flicked his wand in the direction of the vial. It glowed green momentarily, then returned to clear. "So it really is... what should we do, Tonks?"  
"Well, she may know all about the Order, but she is too young. Good afternoon, Miss Nefertari."  
Dumbledore answered instead. Kiya nodded in greeting to him.  
"We will question her on what she knows, and then we shall swear her to secrecy. Harry, I don't want you to hear this. Please go upstairs." Dumbledore said.  
"Alright," said Harry. He exchanged a brief, muddled glance with Kiya before heading straight upstairs to mull things over.  
  
Having already spent some time at the Dursley's this summer, Harry was now staying at Grimmauld Place. He spent most of his time thinking, away from everyone. Things were getting uncomfortable in Grimmauld Place.  
Ron and Hermione, though neither would publicly admit it, were infatuated with each other. The growing tension of possible romance between the two was not bearable to Harry. Cho Chang didn't matter to him anymore, but there wasn't any other girl he had an interest in.  
Sirius had been solemn and glum, acting much like Harry in that he secluded himself upstairs for hours at a time. He was not possible to cheer.  
Tonks very obviously felt something for Kingsley. She always blushed profusely at his approach, and was quite flirtatious with him outside of Ministry and Order work. Here was another source of tension.  
And now here was Kiya, a girl with whom Harry seldom conferred. While she was beautiful, she was also highly depressed. She attempted suicide often, even at school. She was like the embodiment of darkness itself. Never noticed, acknowledged or loved. The only person who Harry had ever seen her with was a boy with literally metallic silver shaggy hair, a skin tone like hers and pastel green eyes. He was the only one who saw her off at the Platform, no one else ever accompanied her.  
Once, in fourth year, when the Yule Ball was coming up, Kiya had approached Harry in silence. Her usual, reverent silence. She had opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. She blushed profusely and sank back into the shadows.  
Wondering now if she had liked him, or if she still did, Harry smiled to himself. This was only the complicated start to a very long day.  
  
Interrogations long finished, Kiya had been instructed to try and make friends with Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny while the adults counseled. Kiya just slid into the shadows of the room and disappeared.  
When Hermione entered, she only knew of Harry's presence in the room, and the same with Ron and his sister. Kiya wasn't noticed until Hermione brought it up.  
"Isn't it strange," she said, watching Ron and Harry play chess, "That that girl goes to our school and somehow found out everything about the Order? It's fishy, if you ask me. what if she's a spy?"  
"She's not," said Harry in sure tones. "And she's in this room."  
Hermione flushed, looked around then turned back to Harry. "Where?"  
"Here."  
Kiya stepped out behind Hermione, her posture stiff and coldly elegant.  
"Oh-- I'm sorry-- I didn't know--" Hermione stammered.  
"Quite alright. I expected it of you anyway." Kiya seated herself on a sofa. "They told me that if I aspire to join the Order, I must be friends with you all first. I suppose this is where I start.  
"My name is Kiya Nefertari. This will be my sixth year at Hogwarts, and I am in Gryffindor. Anything else you would like to know about me before we go on with further introductions and formalities?"  
"Yeah," said Ron at last. "Why all the big words? Loosen up. You can't expect to make friends with us if you're so uptight all the time."  
"I apo-- I'm sorry. Is this better?" Her voice became less tense.  
"Yeah, that's better," said Ron. "By the way, I'm Ron Weasley." He held out his hand for her to shake.  
Kiya shook it with slight reluctance, nodded.  
"Harry Potter," said Harry simply, and shook her hand. Her flesh was cold, but her skin soft. Her touch was strange, and sent Harry's skin prickling.  
"Hermione Granger," prompted Hermione, and they too shook hands.  
"Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister," said Ginny sweetly, and shook her hand.  
There was an awkward moment of silence, which Kiya broke uneasily.  
"Harry, I'm sorry for not going insane and gawking at your scar when we met, but I'm sure you get quite tired of it." Her voice was sardonic.  
"You have no idea," said Harry with a wry smile. "And thanks."  
"Not a problem," was her answer.  
  
Tension built further during Kiya's stay. She was growing warmer, kinder and more social by the day. She was also becoming more pleasant company for Harry.  
For the first few days, she kept her stoic mask, remained cold and didn't even crack a grin. Now, she helped Ron, along with Hermione, with his overdue homework, and at night before bed, she flashed Harry a radiant smile. Harry was surprised when his stomach did several excited flips at her approach, and found he liked her very much.  
One night, Kiya and Harry were walking down an upstairs corridor, about to go to bed, when they stopped at the end of the hall. Their rooms were opposite each other, something Harry and Hermione both had come to cherish. Hermione, because she would often dash giggling into her room, and excited squeals would emit seconds later. Harry, because her melodious singing carried over the hall in the morning, and he glimpsed her every morning as she combed her hair and sang.  
They looked at each other, smiling about an incident earlier in the day that had involved Mundungus Fletcher and a pot of very hot stew. It had sent them into fits of cackling laughter for hours, much to the disapproval of Dung. But now, their smiles were about something different as thoughts, new thoughts, came to mind.  
"Well, see you in the morning," said Kiya.  
"Remember, we're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get school supplies," Harry reminded her, and she nodded.  
There was an awkward moment of silence in which they stared at the floor uneasily. When they looked up at each other sheepishly, they found they were standing quite close. They looked back down quickly, blushing badly. Before Harry looked up again, Kiya closed the space between their lips in an impulsive kiss. 


	2. Blustery day for going back

One Year Later  
  
"Whoa... did you read your letter yet, Harry?"  
Ron stared in amazement at his letter from school.  
"No... why?" Harry said through a mouthful of eggs.  
"Trelawney's dead."  
Harry raised an eyebrow.  
"How'd that happen?"  
"Died in her sleep."  
"She got hers, the fraudulent bat!" said Hermione shrilly, and Kiya laughed.  
Gathered around the table in Grimmauld Place, they were eating breakfast hastily. It was their first day of term, and they were hurrying about the place, doing last-minute packing and getting dressed and such. Luckily, they had all passed their Apparition tests except for Ginny, who was being taken to the Platform by her parents. Mrs. Weasley frowned at Hermione's comment, but said nothing. She continued packing Ginny's things.  
Kiya finished her breakfast and collected all the dirty plates, taking them to the kitchen and starting to wash them.  
"No time for that," said Mr. Weasley hurriedly, pushing trunks at people. "Come on now, we need to go. Get your things!"  
"Will you be alright going alone?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously, wringing her hands and gazing wistfully at the four eldest.  
"We'll be fine, Mum," answered Ron for the rest of them, taking hold of his truck as his mother hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. He Disapparated with a loud crack.  
As they all received the same hugs, they Disapparated after Ron and appeared at Platform 9 3/4.  
The scarlet steam engine was gleaming magnificently, and they were early. They put their luggage on the train and secured a compartment before going back out and socializing with various friends. Almost too late, Ginny arrived with her parents, and they all got on the train.  
Dean peeked into their compartment with a smile just as they started moving. Ginny giggled menacingly and dashed out of the compartment, and they sought an empty compartment. Ron growled ominously, knowing what Dean's purpose was.  
"Can you wait for the feast, Ron?" Harry asked, intending on getting Ron's thoughts off of his little sister.  
"Yeah," said Ron with a smile. "Feast. Can't wait. It's gonna be great." He rubbed his stomach absently.  
Kiya grinned and leaned back against the wall, resting her legs over Harry's lap. This made Harry think about things again.  
He had been dating Kiya since that kiss before his sixth year. She had become a far sweeter, happier and more affectionate person over that time. She still got in her low spots, but other than that she was the perfect companion. In those times when Harry felt like he needed to be in someone's company, but then needed to get away once he was, Kiya was there. She acted as though she weren't there, but was, and that comforted Harry sometimes. He knew she was giving him his space when he needed it but was still close to him. He could tell her close to anything.  
Hermione and Ron had finally admitted that they practically loved each other, and were now dating. Hermione had become very good friends with Kiya, and they were constantly together when they weren't with Harry and Ron on dates or something.  
Now, it was their seventh year. Wondering who would be taking Trelawney's place, or if the subject would be eliminated entirely, they sat talking to each other vaguely. They looked forward to two new teachers this year, one for Divination (if the subject remained, which it might not) and Defense Against the Dark Arts.  
Harry was snapped from his musings as two hysterical, sobbing figures stumbled past their compartment.  
"Patil and Brown," sighed Kiya, shaking her head and taking out a magazine about Quidditch. She had a tendency to call people by their last names, due to being the new Keeper on the Quidditch team. Ron had retired to Chaser, and was doing much better. "They're crazy about her... wonder how long this is going to last."  
"I'm willing to wager they hold an immediate grudge against the new teacher," said Hermione without looking up from her book.  
"Psh, yeah, I bet," snickered Ron. "They were way too attatched, if you ask me."  
  
The train ride was long and dull. Ginny never returned to their compartment, but several D.A. members stopped by, greeting them cheerily-- or not so cheerily.  
When Cho popped in to say hello, she was displeased to find Kiya in the compartment. Cho openly disliked Kiya, and Kiya didn't care.  
"Hi, Harry," said Cho, though she was staring at Kiya as though she was something nasty she had stepped in.  
"Hi," muttered Harry.  
"'Lo, Chang," said Kiya jovially, catching hold of her Chocolate Frog as it struggled to hop away.  
Cho's response was a closed door.  
Kiya sighed.  
"It's a good thing I don't care," she said dryly, leaning back and staring out the window-- well, more like at it. The corners were all frosted and the glass had become dark and foggy. The train began to slow.  
"At last!" Ron was impatiently heard to gasp. "Can't wait for the feast..."  
Hermione rolled her eyes, putting her book away.  
Soon, the train came to a complete stop.  
Dashing through the bitterly cold, lashing wind, they quickly hopped into a carriage.  
"it's cold," Kiya complained, wrapping her cloak more tightly about herself and snuggling close to Harry. He put an arm around her, sighing with a smile.  
"Just not used to the weather yet," he said. She shot him a sideways glance.  
"It's not cold at home," she muttered.  
"We go through this every year." said Ron.  
"'Every year' has been last year and this year, Ron." Hermione told him.  
"Oh well," he grumbled.  
The carriage bumbled to a stop, and they all ran to the castle as quickly as they could, taking their place near the back of the accumulating crowd of students. A familiar voice boomed out over the howling wind.  
"Firs' years, over 'ere! Firs' years, this way!"  
"Hello, Hagrid!" called Harry, waving. Hermione and Ron followed suit.  
"All righ' there, 'Arry?" Hagrid returned, and then resumed summoning first year students.  
All sprinting to get inside, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kiya secured seats at the Gryffindor Table. They looked eagerly up to the table for the professors... 


	3. Head Auror is Here

Dressed in sweeping black robes that contrasted with eyes of grey, a young woman, who couldn't be older than Lupin or Sirius, stood behind the professor's table. She was talking quietly with Dumbledore, her face solemn. She looked as though she had just recieved some very bad news.  
Harry thought she looked familiar, but could not place a name to her, or where he knew her from. He tried and tried to remember but the memory wouldn't come to him. He averted his eyes as her sad gaze began to flicker around the Great Hall.  
"Wow... is that our Divination teacher, or Defense--" Kiya's words ceased as she spotted someone else.  
A man, one who looked to be not much older than Harry himself, was standing somewhere near the woman. He had boyish blond hair in a pudding bowl cut, the front fringe of his hair stuck up a little bit, but it was in a handsomely tousled way. He had a rather good-looking face (according to Hermione, who was trying very hard not to break out in fits of giggles) and a charming smile. His robes were black, but he had left them open. He was wearing baggy knee-length shorts and a plain light blue T-Shirt. He had a jovial look on his face and was looking around with a reminiscent smile.  
As the man laughed at something Professor Sprout was telling him, the woman turned around quickly, her straight black hair flicking out as she did so. She frowned, tapped him on the shoulder, and they began to talk, but now the man looked almost frightened.  
Harry's musings were interrupted by Ron's groans.  
"They should hurry," he said. "I'm starving!"  
Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes and elbowing him in the side.  
"Think with your head and not your stomach for a moment, Ron," she said. "The woman looks more intimidating. Maybe she'll be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Well, either way, they look to be better than that wretched Umbridge woman."  
"Aye aye to that, but I'm still hungry," Ron said pointedly. "I don't care which one is which at this point, long as--" Hermione silenced him with a look as the first years for the Sorting filed in.  
Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room, placed a stool on the floor and a forlorn-looking hat atop that. The rest of the hall fell silent as the brim of the Sorting Hat opened and began to sing it's new song.  
"We all know the story  
Of Hogwart's history  
But for our newest brethren  
So let me begin!  
Long ago, there were four  
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw  
To different virtues they were devoted.  
Gryffindor, for honor and bravery he voted;  
Hufflepuff, to honest and hard toilers;  
Slytherin, ambition contained in their boilers;  
And Ravenclaw, to whom pure intellect was best.  
Yet one thing, I must confess  
They were always friends  
Up until the very end.  
Take example from four fine people  
And do not judge what you see,  
For there is stuff beneath the shell  
Virtues in people you most admire  
Let your minds be open, and let the Sorting begin!"  
A round of applause echoed through the hall as the first name was called to the front.  
"Aaron, Joseph!"  
Harry let his senses wander about the Hall, mainly back to the dark young woman. At last he remembered-- he had seen her in a photograph somewhere, with someone else he knew, but again he couldn't place who the other person was, or where he'd seen the photo. Now she was watching the slowly dwindling line and shooting looks of utmost contempt down the table at Snape, who was returning them.  
"Well, we know that she doesn't like Snape," Harry muttered to Ron, who nodded.  
"They're giving each other the look of death. I wonder if she went to school here with him or something? But I donno, she looks to be foreign."  
That was it! A photo of herself and Remus Lupin and Sirius, looking to be good friends, at Sirius' house. That would explain why she hated Snape (well, they didn't know, but judging by the looks they were exchanging it seemed obvious), because Sirius and James most certainly had.  
"Yeah, she did go here," said Harry, thinking hard. "With my parents, and Sirius, and Lupin. I've seen a picture of them with her at Sirius' house."  
"That explains the Snape thing," said Hermione. "But--"  
She fell silent, again, as Dumbledore stood at the end of the Sorting, smiling in his serene way, eyes twinkling.  
"It is another year at Hogwarts," he began, "and we have many new among us. I welcome you all here, and bid you not to enter the Forbidden Forest, and that our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has reminded me that absolutely no magic is to be performed in the corridors outside of classes, and that there have been new items added to his Ban List, which you can find posted on the door of his office. I would also like to introduce our two new teachers for this year. Alexander Cecil--" Dumbledore gestured to the young blond man, who waved, smiling jovially, "--And Lydia Mostafa." He pointed to the young woman, who nodded and smiled almost cynically. "Professor Cecil will be taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Professor Mostafa will be taking Divination. Anyways, why keep on about this when a wonderful feast awaits us? Enough of that! Tuck in!"  
The golden platters filled with food, and for once, Harry's immediate action was not to start piling food onto his plate, but he frowned and focused on Lydia's right arm. A badge was pinned to her coat, and after looking at it long enough, he realized what it was. It was an Auror badge, he knew the design, but it was in Arabic, so he could not read it.  
"Kiya," Harry muttered, "Can you read her badge?"  
"Yeah," she said airily. "It says 'Head Auror', and 'Egyptian Ministry of Magic' above that. Awesome! She's of really high rank, Harry, which means we should be safe from any sort of attack. With her and Dumbledore here combined, You-Know-Who would be loath to step foot on our grounds! Now let's eat, I'm starved." 


End file.
